ALDERMAN WANTS ANOTHER SHOT

The mercurial political career of Highwood Ald. Joseph Obenberger has taken another bizarre turn.

Make that two turns.

The upshot of it all is that he has indeed resigned from the City Council.

''When I resigned, I was sincere,'' Obenberger said Monday. ''But after people started telling me I was making a mistake and supporting me, I changed my mind.''

Last Wednesday, Obenberger`s immediate and unconditional resignation was handed to Mayor Fidel Ghini. Obenberger, who had stormed out of the council meeting the night before in a dispute with City Atty. Paul Diambri, explained that the argument convinced him that he no longer had any backing from the people or his fellow aldermen.

Then, last Friday, he delivered another letter to Ghini withdrawing his resignation because of public support he had received.

Ghini, however, would have none of it. The city went to court Monday morning to get a ruling on the legality of the original resignation.

Lake County Circuit Judge John Radosevich prohibited Obenberger from performing any aldermanic duties until the case could be heard. Any violation would constitute contempt of court.

The city was content with the ruling and convinced that ''the letter of resignation was enough to make it legal,'' Diambri said.

By Monday evening, Obenberger had backed off and let the resignation stand, vowing to put the controversy behind him.

''I`ve already put in my time on the cross. I`ve run the good race and I`ve fought the good fight,'' he said. ''Now comes the time to put down this burden and hand it over to the council to do what`s best for the people of Highwood because they are good people.''

Obenberger`s problems began in January when he won surprise passage of an ordinance that would have deputized himself, the six other aldermen, the mayor, firefighters and other city officials and allowed them to carry guns.

The ordinance, later repealed, was roundly denounced by Ghini and many citizens and led to public name-calling, anonymous letters and even swastika graffiti.

Late Monday, Obenberger said he has no ill feelings toward the other aldermen or the city`s 5,300 residents.

''I`ve been involved with these people for too long to let things end in bitterness,'' Obenberger said. ''If they don`t want me there, I won`t be there. I want what`s best for the city.''